Nuclear Power BBK

This is a building background workshop that I created to help my students make sense of what is going on in the world.

Nuclear Energy BBK
Learning Targets
· I can name a major event that happened in Japan on March 11th and describe what is the “Japanese Nuclear Situation”
· I can explain what radiation is and give at least two reasons why people are worried about exposure to it. I can describe the risks to myself living in Wisconsin and risks to people in Japan as a result of the Japanese Nuclear Situation.
· I can identify at least three impacts of the Japanese Nuclear Situation on the environment be it marine, urban or other.
· I can read a non-fiction article to determine important ideas.
· I can clearly and accurately communicate my ideas and observations to my peers.
Mystery Piece (total time 10-15 minutes)
Students will record their thoughts about the image in their notebooks. They should also write down any questions they have related to the image. (5-8 minutes)
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/03/13/world/asia/satellite-photos-japan-before-and-after-tsunami.html Use first visual with interactive whiteboard. The slider feature is great!
Have students form groups of 4. Each group gets a large sheet of newsprint and a set of markers. Using the black markers students should work with their groups to mind map what they think they know about the mystery piece. (5-8 minutes)
Reading 1 (FAQ Read: total time 15-20 minutes)
Students will be given sections of articles to read (divided up by questions for differentiation). It’s okay if not all groups get all the questions. Students silent read for 5-8 minutes. Then they use blue markers to add to the chart (mind map) of what they know about the topic based on the new information (10-12 minutes)
Reading 2 (Expert Read: total time 30-40 minutes)
Students divide up the assorted readings. Each student is expected to quietly read and evaluate their materials (15-20 minutes). Then the students take turns reporting out what they observed, noticed or found striking to the group. They should use a red marker to add additional information to the chart based on their expert work. (15-20 minutes)
Class Reporting Out and Generation of Follow-up Questions (total 10-15 minutes)
Each group should do a short presentation of 4 big ideas they learned about the topic with the class. Also they should let the class know if they have any new or unanswered questions about the Japanese Nuclear Situation. These questions can be gathered for use in a follow-up lesson. Completed posters can be hung as anchor charts. As part of the debrief ask students to reflect on how their understanding and knowledge of the Japanese Nuclear Situation changed during the course of the lesson.

Sources
Reading 1- I used these FAQ to find a set of short questions and answers to give to students. I edited the questions for content and narrowed the list to only ones I felt were related to my learning targets. I ended up with a total of 6 pages of questions. I have tried to vary the length and difficulty of the readings on each page so I can differentiate for student readiness as I pass them out. I will need to make 5 copies of each page for this lesson.
http://www.nei.org/filefolder/Japanese_Nuclear_Situation_FAQs_03172011.pdf Modified for length though editing.
http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2011/03/quake-questions.html Modified for length though editing.